IRS Reporting Regulations on Third-Party (3P) Payment
Transactions

Due to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, U.S. third-party
settlement organizations and payment processors, including Amazon, are required to file
Form 1099-K for U.S. taxpayer sellers who meet the following thresholds in a calendar
year:

More than $20,000 in unadjusted gross
sales, and

More than 200 transactions.

If you do not meet both of these thresholds, you will not receive a
Form 1099-K.

IRS regulations require non-U.S. taxpayers to provide Form W-8BEN to
Amazon in order to be exempt from U.S. tax reporting requirements.

Additionally, changes in state tax law require Amazon
to report unadjusted gross sales of $600 or more to sellers with addresses in
Massachusetts or Vermont. There are no transaction thresholds for state reporting.

Providing your taxpayer identification
information to Amazon

Amazon requires that all sellers complete the U.S. Tax Identity Information
Interview.

You can provide your information to Amazon by clicking
here to use our
self-service interview process that will guide you through entering your taxpayer
information and validating your W-9 or W-8BEN form. To fulfill the IRS requirements as
efficiently as possible, answer all questions and enter all information requested during
the interview.

Avoid misspellings or entering incorrect Tax
Identification Numbers, both of which can result in an invalidated tax form. Move
forward or backward through the Tax Interview process at your own pace. Don't worry if
you're not sure which form (W-9 or W-8BEN) applies to you. The answers you provide
during the Tax Interview will automatically determine that for you. To help protect the
security of your taxpayer identification information, please do not disclose it by email
or over the phone.

Note: This interview can only be accessed by the primary user of your Selling
on Amazon payment account.

Important: Information in this
document does not constitute tax, legal, or other professional advice and must not be
used as such. If you have other questions, please contact your tax, legal, or other
professional adviser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tax interview

I am a U.S. taxpayer. What information do I need to provide to Amazon?

By completing the Tax Interview in your
seller account, you will be providing Amazon the appropriate tax identity in the
form of a W-9 or W-8BEN form.

For U.S. taxpayers, a TIN is required by the IRS for the administration of tax
laws. In most cases, your TIN is either an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or
a Social Security Number (SSN).

I am a foreign seller and not a U.S. taxpayer. Do I need to provide any
information to Amazon?

Yes, even if you are a non-US taxpayer, you still need to
provide us information and the responses you give to the tax interview wizard
questions will create the appropriate tax form on your behalf.

IRS regulations require non-U.S. taxpayers to provide Form W-8BEN to Amazon in
order to be exempt from U.S. tax reporting requirements.

Additionally, Amazon must obtain identifying information, such as a
tax ID, from certain sellers on Amazon’s non-US websites. In general, the IRS
regulations require Amazon to collect identifying information from sellers who
have a US address, US banking information, or other identifying information
connecting the seller to the US.

Can Amazon help me with my tax return or assist me in completing the tax
interview?

While we are committed to helping sellers understand the requirements under these
tax regulations, we do not provide tax guidance. Please contact a tax
professional.

I am not going to come even close to hitting the reporting threshold. Why does
Amazon require my tax identity?

All sellers on Amazon.com, regardless of the number of transactions they have in
a calendar year, are required to complete the Tax Information Interview.

Will I be able to provide my VAT number during the tax interview?

No, the interview does not collect information about VAT. We will continue to
collect your VAT information within the Account Info page on Seller Central.

I received an email stating that my Form W-8 is expiring or has already expired.
How do I give Amazon new or updated information?

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that Amazon maintain a current
Form W-8 for merchants, individuals, or entities who are not U.S. persons. If you
have received an email from Amazon stating that your Form W-8 is expiring or has
expired, you must complete an updated Tax Interview to continue selling. To access
the Tax Interview, see instructions here. If you
are a non-U.S. person, failure to maintain a current Form W-8 will result in
suspension of your selling privileges.

I received an error message when trying to complete the Tax Interview. What
should I do?

The information provided during the Tax Interview needs to match the IRS
records.

If you are completing the U.S. Tax Identity Information Interview as an
individual, use the information that appears on your Social Security
card.

Misspelling your name, not including your middle initial or middle name, or
entering an incorrect Tax Identification Number may cause validation of your
form to fail.

If you are completing the information as a business, use the name that
appears on the top line of the address on your CP575A notice from the
IRS.

U.S. Person:

Individual: Use the name that appears on your Social Security
Card.

Business: Use the same name and Taxpayer Identification Number that
appears on your entity’s tax return.

If you selected any type of federal tax classification other than
"Individual/sole proprietor", use the following depending on the
type of federal tax classification you selected:

If you are a non-profit under Internal Revenue Code sections
501(c) or 501 (d), select “Other” as your federal tax
classification and then select the first option, “An
organization exempt from tax under section 501 (a), any IRA, or
a custodial account under section 403(b)(7) if the account
satisfies the requirements of section 401(f)(2)” under the
“Other type” drop-down.

Please refer to the code section that states under 501(a), "An
organization described in subsection (c) or (d) shall be exempt
from taxation….” Therefore, by saying you are exempt under (a),
you are saying that you are exempt under either (c) or (d).

Non-U.S. Person:

Individual and Business: Use the name that appears on your income
tax returns.

Tax status

I have provided my tax identity. How long will it take to see if it is
valid?

Validation can take up to three weeks to complete. After you update your tax
identity information, the Legal Entity section of your Account Info page will
display Provided and Pending Validation. If we find your information does not
match IRS records, we will send you an email with instructions on how to
proceed. If you choose to mail your hard copy document instead of consenting to
electronic signatures, we will require 10-15 business days to process upon
receipt.

If we find that your information does not match IRS records, we will send you an
e-mail with instructions on how to proceed.

The validation process can take up to eight weeks from the time Amazon receives
your information, either electronically or via mail, if you checked the box that
states "I have received my EIN/SSN within 60 Days" while taking the tax
interview.

If you choose to mail a hard copy of your documents instead of consenting to
electronic signatures, It can take 10-15 business days to process once the form is
received.

I received an email stating that my tax identity information is invalid. I
thought I provided my correct information. Can you tell me why it came back
invalid?

We don't know exactly why your tax identity information came back as invalid, but
here are some things to consider:

If you are completing the tax identity information as an individual, use
the information that appears on your Social Security card.

Misspelling your name, not including your middle initial or middle name, or
entering an incorrect Tax Identification Number may cause validation of your
form to fail.

If you are completing the information as a business, use the name that
appears on the top line of the address on your CP575A notice from the
IRS.

If you provided tax identity information and it came back invalid, you have 30
days from the date of the email from Amazon to correct the tax identity
information. If you do not provide corrected tax identity information within 30
days, your Amazon selling privileges will be suspended.

Tax form 1099-K

When will I receive my Form 1099-K?

Tax forms will be sent out by January 31. For accurate delivery, make sure your
contact information is updated no later than December 31. If you sign up for
e-delivery, your tax forms will be emailed to you by January 31. To sign up for
e-delivery, you must retake the Tax Interview and provide an e-signature at the
end. For instructions on how to access the Tax Interview, click here.

Where do I find my Form 1099-K that Amazon issued for my seller account?

You can find the form in your seller account. From the Reports section,
select Tax Document
Library, then the appropriate year, and then Form 1099-K.

Are there instructions on how to use the Form 1099-K for my tax return?

To find out how this legislation and Form 1099-K affect your business, or if you
have other questions, contact your tax, legal, or other professional advisor.

How do I save a copy of the Form 1099-K to my computer?

From the Reports section in your seller account, select Tax Document
Library, then the appropriate year, and then Form 1099-K. Click the
Download
PDF link. To save the
form to your computer, while it is open in Adobe Reader, click File, then
Save As,
and then PDF. Select a location on your computer and click Save.

I believe there is an error on the Form 1099-K I was issued. How do I get an
updated Form 1099-K?

If the error is related to:

Incorrect address: To update your address, you must retake the Tax Interview. Be sure to provide an e-signature at the
end for faster processing. Instructions for completing the tax interview are
provided here. Note that this will only
update your address for tax purposes.

Incorrect tax ID or name: Your IRS Form 1099-K was issued based on the tax
information on file at the time the payment was made. To make an update, you must
retake the Tax Interview. Be sure to provide an
e-signature at the end for faster processing. Instructions for completing the tax
interview are provided here.

Change of information: If you have provided Amazon with
updated tax information during the calendar year, you will receive a separate
1099-K form for each tax ID that met the reporting thresholds for the calendar
year.

Amount: If you are referencing your bank account or your settlement report
from Amazon, note that per IRS regulations, the amounts listed on your IRS Form
1099-K represent the unadjusted gross sales that occurred and not the actual bank
transfers. Unadjusted gross sales represent your total sales unadjusted for fees
or refunds. The amount is the total buyers paid for orders, even if orders were
later refunded.

Will I receive a Form 1099-K for my account even though my unadjusted gross sales
are below $20,000 and my transactions are below 200?

For each calendar year, if you had at least $20,000 in unadjusted gross sales and
more than 200 transactions, a Form 1099-K will be provided to you. If you did not
meet both of these thresholds, you will not receive a Form 1099-K. We will
track your unadjusted gross sales and number of transactions. You will also be
able to tell if you have exceeded the thresholds by monitoring your unadjusted
gross sales and number of transactions in your account.

Additionally, recent changes in state tax law require Amazon to report unadjusted
gross sales of $600 or more to sellers with addresses in Massachusetts or Vermont.
There are no transaction thresholds for the state reporting.

I did not receive my Form 1099-K in the mail. What address was it mailed to?

The Form 1099-K was mailed to the address you provided in the tax interview. You
can also retrieve the form from your seller account. From the
Reports section, select Tax Document
Library, then the appropriate year, and then Form 1099-K. Click the
Download PDF link.

If you'd like to update your delivery preferences to ensure you receive your
forms via e-delivery, you must retake the Tax Interview
and provide an e-signature at the end for faster processing. Instructions for
completing the tax interview are provided here.

Is the $20,000 calculated based on net sales or gross sales?

The $20,000 is calculated based on unadjusted gross sales. Unadjusted gross sales
means the total sales, unadjusted for fees or refunds. It is the amount the buyer
paid for an order even if the order is later refunded.

Unadjusted gross sales equals the amount the buyer paid for the order and
includes sales proceeds, sales tax, and gift-wrap and shipping charges.

Doesn't the gross sales amount change if I refund an order?

No. When you make a sale, the order total becomes a permanent part of your
unadjusted gross sales for the year. Even if you later refund the entire amount a
buyer paid for an order, the order total is still included in your unadjusted
gross sales calculation. The IRS regulations require that no adjustments to gross
transaction amounts be made. Please seek advice from a tax professional to
understand the appropriate adjustments when preparing your tax return.

Here is an example that includes a discount to the buyer, an Amazon fee, and an
eventual full refund to the buyer:

The gross sales amount for the
purposes of calculating annual gross sales is $105, even after the refund.

If I have multiple seller accounts with the same tax identification number and
they exceed the thresholds when the account totals are combined, will you file
Form 1099-K for my combined seller accounts?

Yes. Unadjusted gross sales and transaction volumes will be consolidated for all
accounts that have the same Tax Identification Number (TIN).

Understanding transactional details

How do I find the summary level
details of my unadjusted gross sales for a specific year?

You can use the Date Range Reports
page to generate summary reports for a specific date range.

To generate a date range report, follow these steps:

From Reports,
click Payments.

Select Date Range
Reports. You will need to generate a report for both
Standard and Invoiced orders.